Gay Utah Democratic boss moves beyond sexuality

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) —
Newly-elected Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis last week
became the first openly gay person to lead a state party in Utah, and
he's got a tough road ahead.

But that has mainly to do with the
fact that Republicans control both houses of the Legislature, hold all
statewide offices and about 60 percent of the state's population is
Mormon, a reliable GOP constituency. In fact, Dabakis, with his typical
good cheer, said the only Democratic party delegate who raised concerns
about his sexuality was another gay man.

"He said he was worried
that if he told people he was gay, they would know he was a Democrat,"
Dabakis said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That's what
really scared him."

Dabakis has a boundless optimism practically
required of Utah Democrats, and as co-founder of Equality Utah and the
Utah Pride Center he's no stranger to challenges in a deeply
conservative state.

He's already talking about the possibility of
multiple upsets in the 2012 elections and the potential to lure some of
the state's largest voting bloc — members of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints — to the blue side of the ballot because of what he
sees as an increasingly conservative ideology in the Republican Party.

"We
appreciate diversity ... there's an opportunity for us to say to
independent voters and disenfranchised Republicans to come to the party
of common sense," Dabakis said.

But winning the LDS church vote — a
huge coup if he can achieve it — won't be easy. More than 80 percent of
the state's lawmakers are Mormon, who have historically and
overwhelmingly voted Republican.

So it remains to be seen how much
Dabakis's openness about his sexuality will hurt or help his goal,
given the church's stance on gay issues. A senior church leader last
year delivered a speech in which he said gays could be cured through
prayer, and the faith played a key role in the 2008 California ballot
initiative that banned gay marriage.

Gay rights issues are have
always been important to Dabakis, who has been a strong supporter of
non-discrimination ordinances passed by almost a dozen cities. But he
understands Mormons, having converted to the faith as a teenager because
he wanted to play basketball and most LDS ward houses have courts and
organized leagues, he said. The church later sent him on a mission to
San Francisco at the age of 19 and he attended Brigham Young University
before coming out at the age of 23.

But as party chairman,
Dabakis, now 58, said his energy will be funneled into building the
party, not advancing his personal or social agenda.

A key to the
party's success is attracting moderate voters who simply don't care
about social issues, he said, adding that his election demonstrates that
a person's sexuality is no longer a defining factor in Utah politics.
He may be the first openly gay candidate to lead a state party, but it's
certainly not a first in Utah Democratic politics.

Multiple gay
legislators have been elected to office, and a more liberal faction of
the party recruited Claudia Wright, a lesbian, to challenge U.S. Rep.
Jim Matheson, D-Utah, which forced a 2010 primary. Although she lost,
her sexuality wasn't a major factor in the race, even among Mormons.

Dabakis
says Mormons have been "stereotyped badly" on many issues, including
gay rights and immigration. The current hyper-conservative shift among
Republicans, however, gives Democrats a chance to attract Mormon voters
who don't want hard-line stances on social issues.

"They are not dogmatic, they're not rigid. They're much more open-minded than they're given credit for," Dabakis said.

Democratic
lawmakers who represent areas where the majority of voters are
registered Republicans and Mormon echoed their new chairman's
sentiments.

State Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Holladay, said her district
leans Republican and many voters are against gay marriage and aren't
hugely supportive of gay rights. But she doubted any of her constituents
would care about Dabakis' sexuality.

"He's a successful
businessman who cares about economic development, and he wants to reach
out and include people who have a variety of views," Morgan said.

Another
reason voters won't care is because, well, he's not a Republican, said
Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum.

"Those
who know about the chairman are the people who elected him," Ruzicka
said. "He's in the right party for his lifestyle choice, and it won't
matter as long as he doesn't become a Republican."

Bryan Fischer,
of the Mississippi-based American Family Association, said Dabakis'
election "is further confirmation that the battle to defend natural
marriage is over in the Democratic Party."

But Dubakis' success is
encouraging to gay rights activists "because it happened in a
conservative stronghold," said Michael Cole-Schwartz, of the Washington,
D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign.

Alex Slater, a Democratic
political consultant with SKDKnickerbocker in Washington, D.C., said it
indicates that voters aren't going to be swayed by the same divisive
talking points.

"The social issues that have been exploited by Republicans, often in a dishonest way, are no longer very relevant," Slater said.